we are drake Bulldogs
Head Coach Chris Creighton
Members of the Drake coaching staff and their families are pictured. Top row (left to right) Tyler Fisher, Ben Needham; Jeff Martin and his wife, Deb: Rick Fox and his wife, Julie, and family; Neal Neathery and his wife, Rebecca and family; Kyle York and his wife, Jess; and Chris Hansen. In the front row are Joe Golota; Bill Charles and his wife, Shirley (standing); Matt Jeter and his wife Kimberly and family; head coach Chris Creighton and his wife, Heather, and family; Rebecca Neathery; and Aaron Selby and his wife, Jamie.
Talking With Coach Creighton
On coaching philosophy: “I believe that love is ultimately more powerful than hate, fear, negativity or intimidation. So that is how we will coach at Drake. “In terms of offense I believe in multiple formations, with ability to attack with equal proficiency on the ground and in the air. I like to be unpredictable and keep people off balance. On defense, we want to be assignment sound, aggressive and force turnovers. Special teams and forcing turnovers are the keys to winning football games.” Incoming recruiting class: “We believe there is good talent in this group. Ultimately they will be judged in five years as they are walking across the stage in how they have done academically…what kind of people they have become…how they have grown as men…how well they have served as underclassmen and how well they have led as upperclassmen. I always judge classes after they graduate. “In terms of playing time for recruits we have a simple philosophy. We want to play our best 11 on both sides of the ball, along with our best kicker and punter. It is often difficult for freshmen to be better than players who have been doing it for a longer time, but it doesn’t mean that freshmen can’t do it. So we will evaluate the newcomers during camp and leading up to the first game.” On the Pioneer Football League: “I have great respect for the Pioneer Football League. I really believe these are schools that do it right in terms of being studentathletes, at the same time these are guys who are talented and have passion about the game of football. We are thrilled to be part of the league.” What are advantages that Drake offers: “Drake is the best of both worlds. It is a Division I football experience without compromising a great internationally renowned education. That is really how I sum it up. It is so hard to find the best of both worlds at the Division I level, but at Drake we believe that this (elusive) balance exists.” On recruiting at Drake: “I was drawn by the sense of family here at Drake and we will continue to recruit in that way…student-athletes who want to be a part of a family and be part of something bigger than themselves are going to be attracted to Drake. We will continue to recruit in the great state of Iowa and even grow in that and recruit in metropolitan areas like Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis in the contiguous states. “You see a newly refurbished stadium and other good facilities at Drake. However, a college experience is never defined by bricks and mortar but by the people who surround you. The people at Drake are incredible. As soon as a recruit gets to know the players on our team, the kind of people they are, the vision they have for both their life and for our football program they will be drawn to the Bulldog Football family.”
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